Harvard University Rejects Trump Administration Demands To Change Policies

Harvard University is rejecting Trump administration demands to adopt policy and curriculum changes to keep billions in federal grants, saying it would not accept requirements that violate its constitutional rights.

Harvard President Alan M. Garber said in a statement Monday that the unprecedented demands, which include requirements to change disciplinary policies to address antisemitic acts during last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas war, are unnecessary and infringe on its free speech rights.

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote in the message to the campus community.

Harvard’s response, in the face of a threat of losing $9 billion in federal grants, represents a rare show of resistance to efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to punish major institutions and law firms he views as hostile.

The loss of federal funding would deal a significant blow to Harvard and affiliated institutions, such as Mass General Brigham and Boston Children’s Hospital. Other schools, including Columbia University, have opted to accept administration demands to avoid the cuts.

Institutions across the country are facing probes focusing on diversity initiatives and allegations of antisemitism on campus. Trump has particularly singled out Ivy League schools that he has denounced as left-leaning and elitist. The administration has said it is also either reviewing or pausing grants to Brown, Princeton, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania.

Princeton President Chris Eisgruber, like the leader of Harvard, has said he would resist administration demands.

Former Harvard President Larry Summers told a group of students and alumni last week that the school is positioned to resist because of its nearly $52 billion endowment. “With all of those assets — If Harvard can't resist, who can?” he said.

The administration sent an updated list of demands Friday to Harvard that would require the university to restructure its governance, eliminate diversity as a consideration in admissions, institute new disciplinary measures for student protesters, and decertify pro-Palestinian student groups. Garber said the school had already adopted measures to address antisemitism and other misconduct that occurred during raucous protests over the war in Gaza.

“The administration’s prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government,” he said. “It violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI. And it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge."

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that the administration was seeking to end "unchecked" antisemitism and that Harvard’s response puts its federal funding in jeopardy.

“Harvard or any institution that wishes to violate Title VI is, by law, not eligible for federal funding," Fields said.

The letter the administration sent Friday — from the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services and General Services Administration — accused Harvard of failing to “live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment.”

Harvard’s response to the administration defended the university’s commitment to fighting antisemitism on campus, and said the administration disregards” the changes already made by the university. The university’s lawyers said the demands “invade university freedoms” long recognized by the Supreme Court.

“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," the lawyers wrote in response. "Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government."

Bianca Quilantan contributed to this report.